Bottle garden: tips for creating & planting

The mini biotopes in the pretty glass vessels are currently very much in vogue. In our video, we show what you have to consider when creating a bottle garden and which plants are best for it.

DIY instructions for a bottle garden [music: www.bensound.com]

Bottle gardens have been created for more than 100 years and have always fascinated their owners. No wonder, after all, the plants behind glass are not just a great decoration - especially those The fact that the bottle garden has its own ecosystem always attracts interested people Looks. Once the hermetosphere, as the closed bottle garden is called in technical jargon, is in equilibrium, the ongoing metabolic processes ensure that the bottle garden does not require any additional maintenance needs. In fact, this type of plant management is not only visually appealing, but also particularly easy to care for.

Suitable plants for the bottle garden

Caution is advised here, because unfortunately not all plants are suitable for the bottle garden. Especially native or vigorous plants that are native to us often cannot cope with the conditions in the bottle garden and die after a short time. On the other hand, they are particularly well suited

exotic houseplants. The warm and humid living conditions are very similar to their natural location. Are a real classic in the bottle garden carnivorous plantswho especially appreciate the high humidity and the low nutrient content in the soil. Particularly Pitcher plants (Nepenthes), but also Venus flytraps (Dionaea) often thrive better in the bottle garden due to the consistently high humidity than when kept as an ordinary houseplant.

In addition to the carnivores, there are also other plants suitable for bottle gardens - ornamental pepper (Peperomia obtusifolia), Three-masted flower (Tradescantia) and small-leaved ivy (Hedera helix) are also well suited due to their high robustness. Provide color Bromeliads (Bromelia) and Orchids (Orchidaceae). Due to the limited space in the bottle garden, mini orchids are particularly suitable, which can now be found in different orchid genera. But also small ferns and different ones Moss species must not be missing in the bottle garden, as they have a positive effect on the climate there. For the bottle garden are against it Cacti and Succulents not suitable due to the high humidity - the container in which they are planted should always be open at the top.

Create a bottle garden

Creating a bottle garden is an exciting event for the whole family. The best way to do this is described below.

That’s what you need

Even if a bottle garden sounds complex at first, you actually don't need much to create a hermetosphere. The materials required only include:

• A large glass jar with a lid (for example an old mason jar) or a plant terrarium
• Suitable plants for the bottle garden
• Living moss
• Carnivore soil
• Planting clay
• Spray bottle with water
• And at will: decorative elements

The right soil for a bottle garden

In order for a bottle garden to have a functioning ecosystem even after years, it is particularly important to use a suitable substrate. Normal potting soil often contains too many nutrients for the hermetosphere - because in the bottle garden Plants that thrive particularly often on nutrient-poor soils, this substrate is conceivable not suitable. On the other hand, it is optimal to use so-called carnivore soil. This is not only perfectly adapted to the requirements of sensitive plants thanks to its nutrient composition, but also offers good water storage capacity. This is particularly important because many of the plants for the bottle garden require a particularly humid environment with high humidity. You can add some sand to the carnivore soil so that there are no deficiency symptoms even with a longer cultivation. Iron adheres to this, from which the carnivores can benefit.

This is how you plant the hermetosphere

The first step in planting the hermetosphere is to create a drainage layer. For this purpose, a six to seven centimeter high layer of planting clay is poured into the bottle garden jar. On the one hand, this serves as a water reservoir, but at the same time prevents permanent waterlogging in the substrate. Many plants for the bottle garden like a moist soil, but they too cannot tolerate permanently wet feet. In addition, poor drainage can lead to mold growth in the substrate, which can be a major problem in a closed bottle garden. About five to six centimeters of carnivorous soil is then filled into the glass vessel over the drainage layer. So that the fine roots of the plants can grow better later, it is advisable to crumble coarse clods of earth with your fingers and loosen the earth a little.

Now the first plants can move into the bottle garden. The arrangement of the individual plants can be chosen at will, but you should make sure that If possible, to choose plants with similar location and maintenance requirements so that everyone in the hermetosphere is the same feel good. In addition, only completely healthy and pest-free plants should be used for the bottle garden - otherwise uninvited guests can quickly relax on the other plants in the bottle garden spread. Especially when repotting the carnivorous plants you should also take care not to damage the sensitive roots. Unnecessary soil is therefore only carefully removed by hand and the plants are loosely placed in their new place. When all plants are in place, you can carefully fill in the free spaces between the plants with soil.

Now is the time to put the moss between the plants. Most Moss species can be divided by hand without any problems, so that the plant can be individually adapted to the space in between. The moss is also only carefully pressed against the ground. Now the plants can be watered. Both mosses and carnivores prefer lukewarm, lime-free water (for example rainwater or still mineral water). You should now moisten all plants properly with a spray bottle. Important: The soil should be well moistened, but not dripping wet. If water is already collecting at the bottom of the glass vessel, you should keep the lid of the bottle garden open for a few days so that the excess water can dry off. If you want, you can also decorate your bottle garden. Natural materials such as stones or wood are particularly suitable for this, but small toy figures or ruins made of plastic can also look extremely decorative.

Here is an overview of all the steps:

1. Fill about 6 to 7 cm of planting clay as a drainage layer in a glass vessel
2. Fill about 5 to 6 cm of carnivorous soil on the drainage layer, crumble it up finely
3. Carefully pot the plants and place them in new substrate
4. Fill vacancies with carnivorous soil
5. Put living moss between the plants
6. Moisten with lukewarm, lime-free water
7. Decorate as you wish

Location and maintenance of the bottle garden

In order for the plant garden to last for many years and still look appealing, you should pay attention to several things. For example, the correct location of the bottle garden is particularly important. This should be as bright as possible, but not allow direct sunlight - otherwise it could (depending on the curvature of the bottle garden glass) the sun's rays are bundled, as is known from magnifying glasses, for example, which in the worst case leads to burns on the plants. If, on the other hand, the hermetosphere is too shady, the plants cannot photosynthesize to a sufficient extent and die.

If you have chosen the right location, the bottle garden should ideally not need any further maintenance. Material cycles of their own arise within the hermetosphere, so that the plants grow largely autonomously from humans. Especially at the beginning, however, one or the other hand movement may be necessary to keep the plants in the bottle garden alive. At best, the glass should only be fogged up a little in the morning - if the glass remains fogged up during the day or even drops trickle down, there is too much water in the circuit. To fix that, you should open the jar and let it dry for a while. If the glass does not fog up in the morning or if the plants let their leaves hang, the biotope is too dry and should be watered. Even with rotting or diseased parts of the plant, you should lend a hand and remove them before mold forms. However, the bottle garden is not fertilized. The internal metabolic processes are sufficient to completely meet the nutritional needs of the plants.

If you want to create your own bottle garden with carnivorous plants, you can read again here how to make them Carnivores are best repotted.

Many thanks to Floragard for their support!